Multi-platinum certified and
critically acclaimed Filipino band Ben&Ben have finally released
their highly anticipated sophomore album, Pebble
House, Vol. 1: Kuwaderno via Sony Music.
Expanding
their sound with rewarding experiments and thematically bolder songwriting, the
13-track album marks an important chapter in Ben&Ben’s history as it
captures the songs, stories, messages, experiences, learnings, and insights
that accompanied them through their self-reflecting but fulfilling journey.
“Each
song, much like an entry in one's personal journal, encapsulates something
uniquely special to represent something in a certain point in time,” the
nine-piece collective shares in a statement. “We felt it would be important for
our second album to be a work that brings us closer to our listeners and
introduces them more to the wide spectrum of what we are capable of and of who
we are as people.”
Pebble
House, Vol. 1: Kuwaderno surpasses expectations in terms of musicality and
production, giving way to an exquisite piece of pop songcraft that feels more
like a natural progression from their equally compelling debut album, Limasawa
Street rather than a retread of the comfortably familiar. Since working on Kuwaderno,
Ben&Ben have been more open to collaborations that venture beyond the
confines of their early work.
On
their second album, they have teamed up with the biggest names in the
Philippine music industry on six of the songs, including “Swimming Pool” (Feat.
Chito Miranda of Parokya Ni Edgar), “Pasalubong” (Feat. Moira Dela Torre),
“Lunod” (Feat. Zild and juan karlos), “Sabel” (Feat. KZ Tandingan),
“Kapangyarihan” (Feat. SB19), and “Sugat” (Feat. Munimuni).
“We've
always wanted to collaborate with these artists, but we were also always a bit
too shy to ask,” says lead vocalist and guitarist Paolo Benjamin. “When working
on the second album however, our songs and the arrangements gave us confidence
to reach out in hopes that these collaborators would likewise believe in our
music enough to work with us. Thankfully, they did, and we are immensely
grateful for their generosity in sharing their hard work and talent with us.”
Pre-production
for the album began in the latter part of April 2021 when Ben&Ben recorded
their first two songs “Upuan” and “Magpahinga.” The former will have a music
video featuring He’s Into Her stars Donny Pangilinan and Belle
Mariano to be released on August 29, 6pm (Sunday) via Ben&Ben’s official
YouTube channel. Directed by Niq Ablao, the visuals take us into a
simple yet timeless story about prom, and the jitters that come with finding
the courage to ask someone out.
The
production phase continued with Ben&Ben recording with some of their artist
collaborators towards the end of May, and wrapped up with other songs in the
album in mid-June. These tracks include “Kuwaderno,” which sets the mood and
tone of the record; “Kasayaw,” a metaphor that alludes to the difficult
question of whether two people are in the same groove or not; “Elyu,” a classic
sounding song about wanting to free oneself from something; Ilang Tulog Na
lang,” a paean to long distance relationships; and “Kayumanggi,” an anthem that
embraces the beauty and richness of Filipino identity.
Pebble
House, Vol. 1: Kuwaderno is written, arranged, and produced by Ben&Ben,
with Jean Paul Verona and Sam Marquez (One Click Straight) involved in
co-producing, mixing, and co-engineering duties. Grammy Award-winning mastering
engineer Leon Zervos, who has worked with the likes of Maroon 5, Pink, and
Rihanna, heads the overall mastering of the tracks.
Pebble House, Vol. 1: Kuwaderno is
out now via Sony Music on all digital music platforms worldwide including
Spotify. And fans can also look forward to exclusive content only on Spotify.
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Attended the @benandbenmusic virtual press conference about their album Vol. 1 Kwaderno Pebble House.
They collaborated with 6 artists including @officialsb19. They revealed the arranging for the song Kapangyarihan with SB19 is the hardest and took the longest time to arrange.
They have a music video for the song Upuan which features #donbelle @donny and @belle_mariano . #DonnyPangilinanand #BelleMariano. They were selected due to popular demand of Ben & Ben's fans. They saw the tweets and Tiktok videos and eventually granted the fans' request.
